There are numerous techniques available for delivering multimedia content to members of an audience in an in-home environment or in another environment. For instance, a system and apparatus have been developed wherein a content delivery device is provided which detects an activation event. The activation event causes the content delivery device to operate in a first mode to detect a presence of one or more members of an audience in a viewing area. Once the number of members of the audience in the viewing area is determined, the content delivery device switches to a second mode to initiate a payment for the multimedia content based on the number of members of the audience. Upon determining that an appropriate payment has been received, the content delivery device switches to a third mode to deliver the multimedia content to the members of the audience in the viewing area. The content delivery device periodically operates the content delivery device in the first mode concurrently with the third mode while the content is being delivered to members of the audience. When the content delivery device is operating concurrently in the first and third modes, a determination is made as to whether a change in the number of members of the audience in the viewing area has occurred and, if so, the content delivery device can determine whether additional payment is required (e.g., if a new number of audience members is in the viewing area). If an additional payment is required, the content delivery device will pause the delivery of the multimedia content temporarily and switch to the second mode until the additional payment is received. Upon appropriate payment or adjustment of the number of audience members, the content delivery device will switch back to the third mode upon confirmation that the additional payment has been received. See, for example, my U.S. Pat. No. 8,893,163, the disclosure which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
While my system may operate as an on-demand virtual cinema—adding new movies every week just like the regular movie theaters—the entertainment industry, e.g., the content makers, theater companies, and exhibitors, remain reluctant to make first run content available directly to a customer without additional safeguards to assure that the first-run content is not illegally shared or recorded.